Mariam Shafeek, 21, was arrested at Dubai Airport last Thursday after being found with 0.2g of marijuana in her purse. The penalty for marijuana possession in the United Arab Emirates is four years jail, regardless of the amount....Detective Sergeant Greg Murton, of the Christchurch police drug squad, said even 0.5g of marijuana was a "tiny amount". He said it would be about the size of a 5c piece and would be enough for only "half a marijuana cigarette".-- more here
Figures released by the Dubai Statistics Centre reveal that the emirate has an unemployment rate of 2.6%, one of the lowest in the world. The Dubai Labour Force Characteristic Survey 2006 also shows that population has increased by 7% to reach 1,370,714 of which 78% are male and 22% female.
Today is the last day of the year 1427 & tomorrow marks the beginning of a brand new year. Unlike other new year celebrations elsewhere, there is no concept of "party till you drop dead" in the life of a true muslim. Instead, we are supposed to do a comprehensive self audit because one more year has decreased from our life. The question we should ask ourselves is whether we are leading our lives the way our Creator & His Messenger wanted? If not, then this is the right time to initiate changes in ourselves to help us become better human beings & better muslims.
Jim Krane of AP:
The Burj Dubai skyscraper under construction here reached its 100th story on Tuesday, nearly two-thirds of the way in its relentless climb to become the world's tallest building.With 3,000 laborers adding a new floor nearly every three days, the $1 billion spire is days away from surpassing a neighboring skyscraper that is currently the tallest in the Middle East, Dubai-based developer Emaar Properties said.. . .The Middle East previously held the record of the earth's tallest structure for about 43 centuries. Built around 2500 B.C., Egypt's Great Pyramid of Giza dwarfed the competition at about 481 feet until 1889 when the Eiffel Tower was completed in Paris at a height of 1,023 feet, including the flag pole. Read the whole thing.
UAE is Britain’s largest export market. The exports from United Kingdom to the GCC totalled more than Dh37 billion for the first nine months of 2006, a report from the Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry (DCCI) said. The UAE was Britain's largest export market, accounting for Dh20.7bn of this, while Saudi Arabia was second with Dh8.57bn.Motorists who do not yield to emergency vehicles will face strict action, warned the Civil Defence. Brigadier Rashid Thani Al Matroushi, Director of Dubai Civil Defence, said not yielding to fire engines and other emergency vehicles hinders rescue operations and costs tens of millions of dirhams which are invested to reduce the response time. "The authorities concerned will take strict action to check the lack of cooperation by some motorists who do not realise the losses they are causing,"
Emirates To Launch Non-Stop Flights To Newcastle (10 January 2007)A massive boost for travellers and cargo shippers throughout the UK’s North-east region, with a new non-stop connection to Dubai.
Middle East’s Richest Running Event Just Got Richer (9 January 2007)A brand new Toyota Yaris Sedan will go to the first marathon runner home
Dubai will be the world's safest city by 2010, when a "smart system" project to be established over the next two years will protect 100,000 establishments, a civil defence official said.The project depends on an electronic monitoring system on every building that will trigger the fire extinguishers and report accidents, once they happen, via satellites linked to the civil defence operations room.So far, 540 buildings, 1,500 houses and 390 flats in two Dubai Marina have the smart system. There will be some 4,600 installations of this kind, in more than 8,000 buildings, including apartment towers, said the official.Direct alarm systems are obligatory for all categories of buildings, whether new or old, and they will be installed provided the basic electronic infrastructure is available.
"H.H. Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, in his capacity as Ruler of Dubai, has issued a decree on rent allowance in the Emirate of Dubai.The new rent allowance was decided after taking into consideration Decree no. 2 of 1993 and its amendments, which set up a special committee to look into and settle disputes between landlords and tenants, and Decree no. 14 of 2005 which set a ceiling for any rent increase in the emirate.According to the new decree, rent allowance shall not exceed 7% of the annual rent charge of the property. This shall apply to all rent contracts that are to be renewed in 2007 on condition that no rent increment was made on that property in 2006. No rent allowance increment shall be made in 2007 on properties whose contract had already been signed in 2006, Article 2 of the new decree said.The decree tasked the special judiciary committee in charge of settling disputes between landlords and tenants to come up with the appropriate measures for the implementation of the new decree, which takes effect from the date of its issuance, January 1, 2007 and is to be published in the official gazette."more here and here
